


Friendship

by spacedaydreamer



Category: 999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors - Fandom, Zero Escape (Video Games)
Genre: (let them be happy please), Gen, because there's never enough childhood friend fluff in the world, it's childhood friend fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 09:13:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9996311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacedaydreamer/pseuds/spacedaydreamer
Summary: Junpei was certain he’d never seen a smile quite that bright- when he looked at her, he felt as though everything got a little bit brighter. He didn't realize until later on that he wanted to protect that smile, to ensure that it would stay just as bright.(Junpei and Akane's first meeting as kids, and a bit of them growing up together as well. Just lighthearted fluff, with a dash of Jumpy slowly falling for Akane over the years.)





	

“Wh-whoa! Slow down, Pluto!”

Junpei was being dragged down the street by his dog, an excitable old English sheepdog who seemed to have caught a scent. The young boy had to run to keep up with his pet, but that only seemed to encourage the dog more, who bounded down the street with enthusiasm.

“What out!”

“Huh?”

It was all he could do to shout a warning to the girl who’d walked out in front of them, but it didn’t do her much good. Pluto jumped up onto his hind legs and knocked her right over. The sudden stop threw Junpei off balance as well, and he ended up tripping and falling on top of the girl. It took him a second to finally realize what’d happened and he scrambled off, apologizing profusely.

“I’m sorry! Bad dog, Pluto! Apologize to her!”

The dog only sat in place, panting and giving Junpei the look that always let him get away with being bad. He was a sucker, he knew it, but the dog was just so cute…

“A-anyways, I’m really sorry! Are you ok?”

She seemed to have dusted herself off and sat up- she didn’t look hurt, at least. That was good. The girl smiled and laughed a bit, much to Junpei’s surprise, and looked at Pluto.

“I’m fine, it’s ok. Are you alright, though? It looked like you were having trouble walking him…”

“Ehehe… he just gets a bit excited sometimes, that’s all. Normally he’s a lot better at walking.”

“Is that so?” She giggled again, and gave Junpei a big smile. “I’m Akane- you?”

“O-oh, um. I’m Junpei.”

Akane smiled, and jumped right to her feet.

“It’s nice to meet you, Junpei!”

She seemed to be completely over the fact that Pluto had knocked her over, and was instead examining the dog, who was still sitting pretty in his best attempt to suck up to Junpei. She held out her hand for him to sniff, and let out a surprised ‘oh!’ when he licked her hand, before giggling to herself once more.

“He’s a friendly one. You said his name is Pluto?”

“Yeah, I called him that after the dog from Mickey Mouse.”

“Aaah, cute! But, he doesn’t look too much like him…”

“Y-yeah, I guess not…”

Junpei crossed his arms in thought, a bit confused by her statement. She sure was a straightforward girl, wasn’t she? Junpei wasn’t the best at making friends, but he didn’t think this was how most people introduced themselves.

“His hair keeps hanging down in his eyes- can he see?”

“Well, kinda? I should probably give him a haircut soon, but he doesn’t like them that much…”

It really didn’t help that he was only allowed to use safety scissors- it was supposed to be his parents who’d do it, or the babysitter (who he’d accidentally lost, when Pluto had taken off running).

“Oh… just give me a second!”

Junpei tilted his head and watched as Akane reached into her bag, digging around furiously for something. Eventually, she found what she’d been looking for- a hairclip featuring the girls from the most recent Precure show that had started airing, in bright pinks, blues, and yellows. Akane smiled brightly as she pulled back Pluto’s fur and put the clip in place, allowing him to see clearly.

“There we go! Now he can see!”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Do you not like it?”

“N-no, that’s not it! I’m just upset that I didn’t think of that first, that’s all.”

“Ehe, you’re funny, Jumpy.”

Junpei felt his cheeks heat up when Akane called him ‘Jumpy’, and quickly turned his head. He’d at first just been embarrassed by the clip, with _Smile Precure!_ boldly written on it, but he found that he didn’t want to disappoint this strange girl.

“Oh, but, isn’t this yours? I won’t be able to give it back to you if Pluto wears it home…”

“Just think of it as a gift! I don’t mind, he needs it more than I do.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m positive!”

“A-alright then… Akane.”

“You can call me Kanny, if you want.”

Junpei was certain he’d never seen a smile quite that bright- when he looked at her, he felt as though _everything_ got a little bit brighter. He found himself blushing furiously, but he eventually nodded in agreement.

“O-Ok, Kanny.”

They went their separate ways after that, Akane walking off with a boy who looked a bit older than both of them, while Junpei was distracted by the frantic calls of his babysitter who’d only now managed to catch up. She went on to scold him for a good few minutes and insisted that she take the leash, making the rest of the walk a fairly boring affair.

 When he finally returned home and removed the hairclip, he went to put it away inside of a drawer- but he found that he couldn’t. It was embarrassingly girly, but it _had_ been a gift… he’d hold onto it. He figured it was only right then that he at least check out an episode of the show, so that he could properly respect the gift- and he found that he genuinely enjoyed it. Even if it _was_ super girly, the first episode all about the main girl who liked storybooks, and getting her transformation; it was a lot of fun. He figured that magical girls _were_ kinda like action heroes, just with frillier clothes- was that really a bad thing? It wasn’t like he’d go out of his way to watch more, but he’d at least check it out if he saw it on TV again.

* * *

 A month or two had passed since Junpei first met Akane, and he’d basically forgotten about the encounter. He still used the barrette whenever taking Pluto for a walk, but he’d basically forgotten who’d given it to him, and only remembered that it was something important. He didn’t remember at all, until his first day of school- when a familiar face walked into his classroom halfway through the day.

“Hi! I’m Kurashiki Akane, I hope we can get along well.”

Her smile was as bright as Junpei remembered it, and she looked around the classroom expectantly. There were a few free seats, but Junpei quickly put his hand up to offer the one beside him. He found himself shifting nervously in his seat for the entire class, hardly able to listen- and by the time class was _finally_ over, he couldn’t even react before Akane had spoken up.

“Jumpy, hi! I can’t believe we’re in the same class.”

“I-I know, right? What’re the odds…”

“I was really nervous, because I didn’t know anyone here… but now, we can be friends!”

“Friends?”

“Oh, um… is that ok?”

“Y-yeah, it’s fine!”

Junpei had only been surprised, because he’d never really _had_ any friends before. He’d never really gotten along with other kids that great in preschool, and none of his parent’s friends had kids his age. He’d just gotten used to fitting in, and going along with what everyone else did.

That’s why he was so utterly confused by her words. They’d only met once before- was she really sure she wanted to be his friend? Junpei’d just have to hope that she wouldn’t take that back later, after she’d gotten to know him… no, don’t think so negatively! It was only their first day of school, after all- hopefully, they’d have plenty of time to get to know each other. After all, even though they’d only just met, Junpei had a feeling that they were going to be friends for a long, long time- or at least, he hoped as much.

* * *

 Time passed in school, and Junpei realized that despite how she’d spoken the first day, Akane didn’t make any friends. She never really spoke to anyone else, and when she did, the other kids would ignore her. She wasn’t _bullied_ , exactly, but nobody paid attention to her. She was the type of girl who’d always speak her mind, and she was incredibly smart- probably the smartest of anyone in their grade (at least, in his opinion).

He’d pretended not to see her alone, at first, but as time went on, he found that he couldn’t ignore her any longer. It was a couple months after school started that he finally got up the nerve to talk to her, sitting alone in the corner as usual.

“H-hey, Akane… do you mind if I eat with you?”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t. You were eating with your friends, weren’t you?”

“Them? Uh, well…” Junpei scratched the back of his neck, looking to the side. “We don’t really talk much. I’d rather eat with you, you’re more interesting.”

“Jumpy…. Ok!”

Akane smiled in that bright way that Junpei admired, and waited for him to bring his food over. After that day, it just became habit- Junpei didn’t want to see her cry. He wanted to be Akane’s friend, and that meant staying with her. Besides, it wasn’t like he was losing anything by spending time with her. He’d actually have someone to talk to if they were hanging out, so it was a win-win for both of them.

“So, Akane…”

“…”

“Is something wrong?”

“It’s just… you haven’t called me Kanny since we first met… Do you not like nicknames? I can stop calling you Jumpy…”

Junpei flushed bright red, and started shaking his head quickly.

“N-No, not at all! I just, uh, Didn’t think you’d want me to call you that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, totally. Just, uh… don’t worry about it… Kanny.”

“Alright.”

She was smiling again, and Junpei let out a sigh of relief. He’d been embarrassed to say ‘Kanny’ out loud, but if it was just the two of them, then did it really matter that much? He decided that no, it didn’t- so Kanny it was, then.

* * *

 “Next, we have the rabbit’s hutch. We’ll need two people to take care of it.”

It was the day before summer vacation, in their last year of elementary school. Junpei just wanted to be done with school already so he could get home, but there were still things to do. The first these tasks was to dole out ‘summer responsibilities’.

Akane had her hand raised high in the air, eyes shining brightly. She’d always loved them, stopping by their hutch whenever she had spare time. It was _also_ where Junpei knew he could find he whenever she was upset, quietly trying not to cry as she would pet the rabbits. None of the other kids seemed even remotely interested in caring for them though, so Junpei purposely looked away from Akane, and slowly raised his hand.

“Alright, Kurashiki and Tenmyouji.”

The teacher went on to explain their summer homework, and other boring stuff, but Junpei didn’t pay any attention. He was too focused on what was going to come- summer meant festivals, beaches, and all sorts of other fun! Plus, even if it _was_ work, hanging out with Akane all summer would be a good time… He was caught up in that train of thought when he felt something poke him in the arm, and he looked down at his desk. Akane had passed him a note, written in incredibly cutesy lettering:

‘ _I’m so happy we get to work together, Jumpy!_ _✲_ _ﾟ｡_ _.(_ _✿ >◡<_ _)_ _ﾉ_ _☆_ _._ _｡_ _₀_ _:*_ ’

He stared at it, then at Akane, and back to the note- she was looking at him expectantly, which meant he _had_ to write something back. He bit his lip and thought about it for a while. He didn’t want to sound _eager_ or anything, he was too much of a cool kid for that- but he didn’t want her to think that he didn’t like her. After a while, Junpei settled on what to write, and passed the note back as subtly as possible.

‘ _It’ll be fun, Kanny._ ^◡^’

She smiled when she read the note- that same bright smile he’d fallen in love with, that she didn’t use as often anymore- the smile he’d decided he wanted to protect. His heart pounded a bit and he looked down at his desk, trying to hide the blush he was certain was showing. She was his only friend- but she was also a bit more than a friend, to Junpei. He wouldn’t tell her that, though. It was enough for him that they were just able to see each other almost every day, and he wouldn’t trade that for the world.

He could only hope that things would continue like this forever. If they could be friends forever… that sounded nice to Junpei. He’d already decided that he’d do anything to make her happy, after all. So, whether that happiness came from just being there for her, or even if it resulted in her wearing a ring on her left hand, he wanted to try his best for her. There were many things Junpei didn't really understand yet, and love was one of them, but he figured that what he felt was close enough. No matter how kiddish it might be, he didn't really consider the idea that he might grow out of this crush. He liked Akane Kurashiki, and things were as simple and straightforward as that.

Yes, he was certain that they’d be able to spend many, many years together, just as happy as the past six had been.

**Author's Note:**

> aaah, this one took a while to write (partially because I kept stopping and going "ugh this is too cute" every five minutes), but it was a lot of fun! Junpei and Akane are just so sweet, and I enjoy imagining different possible ways they could've met. I like to think that Junpei might've had a dog when he was a kid, and considering he'd only be six when they first met, it's definitely possible that he could've kinda gotten pulled along by him. This thing also underwent a massive re-write because I realized I messed up on the year that they met, but i feel like I got things sorted out pretty well ^^ who knows, maybe someday i'll write about their pool trips, or a snowball fight? It's a possibility, at the very least xD
> 
> (and I apologize for that last little part, I am a bad person who slips dramatic irony into everything if given the chance)


End file.
